How Yorkshire won the county title - Live - BBC Sport How Yorkshire won the county title 9 Sep 20159 Sep 2015 1h1h Got a TV Licence? You need one to watch live TV on any channel or device, and BBC programmes on iPlayer. It’s the law. Yorkshire secure County Championship crown Notts bowled out for 204 to hand Yorkshire title Yorkshire skittled Middlesex for 106 at Lord's Somerset 147-0 after Hants out for 240 in relegation battle Use 'Live Coverage' tab to choose commentary Live Reporting By Gary Smee, Ged Scott and Kalika Mehta All times stated are UK Get involved Facebook: BBC Sport Posted at 18:45 So that's all we've got time for I'm afraid on what was a memorable day for Yorkshire and their supporters. Durham were the last side to win back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009. Yorkshire have not won consecutive titles since 1968 when they became the last team to win three on the trot, under the captaincy of Brian Close.

Our next county cricket live text commentary will be on 19 September for the One-Day Cup final between Gloucestershire and Surrey at Lord's. If you can't wait until then, England are back in action in the fourth ODI against Australia on Friday at Headingley where the series is intriguingly poised at 2-1 in favour of the Aussies. I hope you've enjoyed today's coverage, thank you for joining us. Share Recap - How Yorkshire won the title Posted at 18:41 Getty Images Yorkshire went into the match against Middlesex knowing they needed five points to secure the title, if both their opponents and Notts claimed maximum points. However, the Tykes would also be crowned champions if they bowled Middlesex out for less than 300 and Notts failed to make 350. And that's exactly what happened. Ryan Sidebottom took three wickets in the first over of the day to leave the hosts 0-3 at Lord's. The left-armer eventually finished with 5-18 and Tim Bresnan picked up four wickets as Middlesex were skittled for 106 - part one done.

Then it was just a waiting game to see how Notts were doing - not very well. They had slumped to 73-7 against Durham and were eventually bowled out for 204. It meant the title returned to Headingley at just after 15:00 BST. Share Posted at 16:16 Getty Images Delayed tea interval at Lord's as they catch up on the day's allocation of overs but finally the two Yorkshire batsmen out in the middle, skipper Andrew Gale and Alex Lees, can join their celebrating team-mates back in the away dressing room. With Lees having gone in the last over before the break, Gale will be the happier of the two having reached his half century with his ninth boundary, rapidly followed by his 10th. BBC London 94.9's Kevin Hand at Lord's: "Middlesex were all out for 106 just after lunch when Ryan Sidebottom claimed his fifth wicket, three of which had come in the first over of the day.

"But the leaden skies have now cleared though and the sun has been out for most of the Yorkshire innings, in which skipper Andrew Gale has reached an unbeaten fifty." Share For the love of county | The Cricket Monthly | ESPN Cricinfo For the love of county Sign inLogout Issues Cheers to change: Tendulkar two days before his first match as the first Yorkshire player born outside the county © AFP High Fives For the love of county Few things speak of the English summer as the County Championship. To celebrate its 125th anniversary, here are the five most memorable seasons Daniel Brigham | June 2015 1890: The first Championship From 1873, several counties had started playing ad-hoc matches across the summer. There was no formal league, and the title of champions was awarded by popularity, much like a prize-winning marrow at a village fete. A points system was introduced in 1890 - a point for a win, minus one for a defeat, nothing for a draw.

Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire were the founding fathers, and on May 13, WG Grace led his Gloucestershire side in to bat with his brother Edward against Yorkshire at Ashley Down, Bristol. It was the first County Championship match, and Yorkshire did what they would mostly carry on doing for the next 125 years - winning, by eight wickets. It wouldn't all go their way, though. After 14 matches Surrey were the champions, led by the 113 wickets of blue-eyed George Lohmann - who, like Grace, could bowl medium-pace spinners to devastating effect - and the 704 runs of pocket-sized Bobby Abel, whose unbeaten 357 against Somerset in 1899 remains Surrey's highest score 116 years later, out of reach of Hobbs and Sandham, of Barrington and May, of Thorpe and Stewart, of Ramprakash and Butcher. 1957: The Invincibles The greatest Championship side of all time?

A few can lay claim: Yorkshire of the 1930s, powered by the record-breaking openers Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe; the Yorkshire side that collected seven titles between 1959 and 1968; or Middlesex, led by Mike Brearley, who won four Championships in seven seasons from 1976 with a meticulous balance of spin, pace, style and substance. But in this land of giants there is one that looks down on them all. Surrey's seven consecutive titles in the 1950s - an era that was a rare peak for English cricket - remains one of the greatest periods of dominance in domestic cricket. From 1952 to 1958 they won 121 out of 196 matches, as Laker, Bedser, May, Stewart and Barrington made imprints in history. Surrey: Bradmanesque in 1957 © Getty Images Of all of their titles, 1957 was their most dominant. They started their season as they meant to go on: with an innings victory over Glamorgan.

Only 11 times in 55 innings did Surrey's opponents pass 200, and never 300. The champions won 21 of their 28 matches, nine by an innings, and took the title by a staggering 94 points. 1984: The closest finish The final round of matches: reigning champions Essex won their game inside two days against Lancashire at Old Trafford. It put them top, but their attention turned anxiously to second-placed Nottinghamshire, facing Ian Botham's Somerset at Taunton . A win for the visitors and the title would be theirs. Nottinghamshire declared 52 runs behind. Botham, always game for keeping matches alive, set Nottinghamshire 297 from 60 overs: Championship or bust. Chris Broad and Tim Robinson put on 70 for the first wicket, while Paul Johnson, Richard Hadlee and Bruce French added rapid 20s. But when Clive Rice was caught by 12th man Richard Ollis for 98, it appeared the game was over. That was until Mike Bore, in at No. 10 but more a No. 12, hacked them closer.

The final over of the season, 14 needed, one wicket in hand: Bore hit the first two balls, from Stephen Booth, for four, and then collected two. Four from three. The fourth, blocked. Then, on the season's penultimate delivery, Bore launched Booth towards the stands, towards the title. It dropped just short, into those pesky hands of Ollis again. The title, by a couple of feet, was Essex's. And how did they thank Ollis? The following season, John Lever had him caught for a duck. Vic Marks starred with six wickets in the final innings in Somerset's three-run win against Notts in 1984 Adrian Murrell / © Getty Images The Ten: Epic County Championship Seasons | All Out Cricket The Ten: Epic County Championship Seasons The Ten: Epic County Championship Seasons As county cricketers across the land get to grips with the new season, Jo Harman picks out 10 dream summers to aspire to. 10.

TONY FROST, 2008 1,003 runs at 83.58, 2 centuries Warwickshire’s bespectacled keeper had put down the gauntlets in 2006 to pursue a career as a groundsman, bringing a decade of diligent but unspectacular service to a close. However, he was unexpectedly cajoled out of retirement when England called up Tim Ambrose. Frost scored 46* in his first match for two years, 90 in his next and plenty more thereafter, finishing the campaign with a career-best 242*. Having expected to spend his season on a lawnmower, Frosty the yeoman finished it on top of the Championship batting averages. 9.

DENIS COMPTON AND BILL EDRICH, 1947 Compton: 2,003 runs at 96.80, 11 centuries; Edrich: 2,257 runs at 77.82, 8 centuries “They go together in English cricket as Gilbert and Sullivan go together in English opera,” wrote RC Robertson-Glasgow, and in 1947 the Middlesex pair belted out classic after classic to rewrite the record books. In all first-class cricket they scored 7,335 runs, took 140 wickets and held 66 catches between them. Middlesex won their first title for 26 years and John Robertson – 2,214 runs at 65.11 – was left to wonder how he’d finished third in the county’s batting averages. 8. MUSHTAQ AHMED, 2003 103 wickets at 24.65, 10 5-fers, 5 10-fers Sussex hadn’t won a County Championship until the Pakistani leggie’s arrival.

In the six seasons he spent at Hove, they won it three times. The duck was broken in 2003 when Mushy became the first bowler since Courtney Walsh in 1998 to take 100+ wickets in a Championship campaign. He repeated the trick in 2006 – no bowler has hit the 100-wicket landmark since – and took 90 the following season as the south-coasters won back-to-back titles. 7. DAVID FULTON, 2001 1,729 runs at 78.59, 8 centuries After nine seasons of mediocrity in which he’d mustered seven centuries, with his greatest claim to fame facing Wasim in a floppy in the 1995 B&H final, Kent’s skipper found himself on the verge of an England call-up after a gluttonous campaign that featured nine tons, eight of them in the Championship. Nasser Hussain later revealed that England’s selectors had chosen Fulton for the Headingley Ashes Test in place of Mark Butcher after the Surrey man had broken curfew, only to have a late change of heart.

As it was, Butch batted rather nicely and Fulton returned to the shires. 6. MICKY STEWART, 1957 1,290 at 33.94, 2 centuries; 63 catches Stewart’s run haul was healthy enough in Surrey’s title-winning campaign but it’s his superlative fielding at short-leg that sees him make this list. Under ultra-aggressive captain Stuart Surridge, Surrey took the innovative step of crowding batsmen with close fielders, allowing them to take catches off defensive shots if they dared stand close enough. Surridge had retired by 1957 but the philosophy was ingrained and Stewart was the ideal man to station at boot hill. Fearless and agile, he took 77 catches in all first-class cricket including a world-record seven in an innings at Northampton. 5.

PHIL SIMMONS, 1996 1,186 runs at 56.47, 4 centuries; 56 wickets at 18.23, 3 5-fers Simmons had long been touted as an outstanding talent but his modest record didn’t scream ‘marquee signing’ when he arrived for a second season at Leicestershire. However, in a roster of overseas players that included Walsh, Ambrose, Pollock and Bevan, come September there was no doubting the star turn. A beefed up Simmons was in full beast-mode, bowling faster than ever, whacking it miles and catching pigeons at slip. The Trinidadian inspired an unfancied side to their first Championship title in 21 years and became the first player to take 50+ wickets and score 1,000+ runs in a Championship season since Kevin Curran in 1990. Will Gidman is the only man to achieve the feat since. 4.

GRAEME HICK, 1988 2,443 runs at 76.34, 9 centuries England waited with bated breath for the day that Harare-born Hick qualified to represent them and it became almost too tantalising to bear when in 1988 – still three years before he became eligible – the 21-year-old became only the second batsman since World War II to score 1,000 first-class runs before the end of May, helped along by a mammoth 405* at Taunton. Hick topped the Championship runscoring charts for the third year in succession and led Worcestershire to their first title since 1974. 3. PHIL MEAD, 1928 2,843 runs at 81.22, 12 centuries A batting colossus for Hampshire for over 30 years, Mead scored more Championship runs than any man before or since – just the 46,268 of them – and topped 2,000 in a campaign on nine occasions. “He was never much concerned with breaking records,” said John Arlott.

Pity really, because he was bloody good at it. The left-hander’s tour de force came in 1928 when, at the age of 41, he racked up 3,000 first-class runs including a record 2,843 in the Championship. 2. MARK RAMPRAKASH, 2006 2.211 runs at 105.28, 8 centuries Ramps had been in imperious form since arriving at Surrey in 2001 but this was the season when he really took it up a notch. He made a career-best 292 against Gloucestershire, topped that with a triple against Northants and passed 2,000 runs in his 20th innings – a new record. His campaign included a string of 150+ scores in five consecutive matches – another new record – but wasn’t enough to get him in the Ashes tour party. It seemed like a one-off, a feat never to be repeated, but then he went and did it again in 2007, hitting 2,026 at 101.30. 1.

TICH FREEMAN, 1933 252 wickets at 14.84, 33 5-fers, 14 10-fers It’s testimony to the sublime skills of Alfred Percy Freeman, known to all as Tich, that in 1933 the great Hedley Verity snared 153 victims and was still one shy of a hundred wickets short of Kent’s leggie. Only Wilfred Rhodes , who played nearly twice as many matches, has more than Freeman’s 3,776 first-class scalps, and Freeman is one of only six men to have taken 200+ wickets in a County Championship season, doing it on six occasions between 1928 and 1935, the last of those at the ripe old age of 47. For skill, stamina and prolificacy, Freeman has had no equal in the county game.

Follow Jo Harman on Twitter Tags: Kennington News: Arthur McIntyre: England cricketer who kept wicket throughout Surrey's run of seven consecutive 1950s county titles Arthur McIntyre: England cricketer who kept wicket throughout Surrey's run of seven consecutive 1950s county titles February 8, 2010 Arthur McIntyre: England cricketer who kept wicket throughout Surrey's run of seven consecutive 1950s county titles Arthur McIntyre was the wicketkeeper in the great Surrey side that won the County Championship in seven consecutive summers from 1952 to 1958. He was the consummate professional, the best "day in, day out" keeper on the county circuit, standing up to the stumps not only to the Surrey spin twins Jim Laker and Tony Lock but also to the awkward medium pace of Alec Bedser, all of them bowling on lively, uncovered pitches. Unfortunately he played in the same years as the more spectacular Godfrey Evans, and he won only three Test caps. Evans was a showman, lacking the dedication necessary for the six-day-a-week routine, but he could turn on the style on the big occasions.

McIntyre grew up in Princes (now Cleaver) Square in Kennington, a quarter of a mile from The Oval. His father was a Scottish bricklayer, often out of work, but he managed to buy his five-year-old boy a cricket bat, shaving off the bottom. In the middle of the square were disused allotments and in the games played there the boy who had the only bat was soon making progress. His schoolmasters at Kennington Road encouraged him, he watched his idol Jack Hobbs whenever he could, and in June 1932, aged 14, he opened the batting at Lord's for the London Elementary Schools. His partner was Denis Compton: they put on 100 together, then, "he hit the ball straight at cover point and ran me out." He joined the Oval groundstaff, where he supervised members' bicycles, turned out for the Young Players of Surrey and was sent one winter to Maidstone to develop his leg-breaks under the tutelage of the great "Tich" Freeman.

McIntyre, a "tich" himself at 5ft 5in, was seen as a leg-spinner who also batted, and he progressed into the first team for a few games in 1938 and 1939. Then came the war. He was posted to North Africa and then to Italy, where a large piece of shrapnel had to be extracted from his hip. It was there that he met up with the Bedser twins, who were in the RAF police, and he experienced the rare joys of "clean sheets, lovely ham sandwiches and cricket talk." The pre-war Surrey keeper, George Mobey, was in his forties, and the Bedsers suggested to McIntyre that keeping might be his best route into the side. So "Mac" turned himself into a keeper. In fact he played the summer of 1946 as a specialist batsman, scoring 791 runs, including a century, and winning his county cap. He was working with the great pre-First World War England keeper Herbert Strudwick to improve his glovework, and the following summer the position became his.

Alec Bedser liked his keepers standing up, and the slow left-armer Tony Lock became a testing bowler to keep to, particularly with his faster ball. But it was the off-spin of Jim Laker that McIntyre found hardest. On a dusty track at Chelmsford in 1947 Laker's deliveries bounced over his left shoulder and he conceded 33 byes. With the England fast bowler Peter Loader emerging in the early 1950s, it was arguably the best county bowling side of all time - and by then Mac was taking them all with a calm unobtrusiveness. "He was never acrobatic," Peter May wrote. "There was no need, as he was always in the correct position on his two feet." He was a wristy, attractive batsman, keen to get on with it. Though he did not make the runs he might have done as a specialist batsman, he scored seven centuries and completed 1,000 runs in a summer three times.

He played the lap shot well and what we now call the slog-sweep, but his running between the wickets was not popular with one or two of the older, heavier players, notably Jack Parker, whom Mac described as "like an old ship going down the wicket." McIntyre was chosen as reserve England keeper for the 1950-51 tour of Australia, captained by Freddie Brown. On the way out he scored a century in Ceylon and was picked as a batsman for the first Test at Brisbane, taking part in the most extraordinary day's cricket. On the Saturday Australia made 228. Then came two days of rain, followed by a tropical sun that made the drying pitch an unplayable sticky dog. England struggled to 68 for 7 then declared. Australia reached 32 for 7 and also declared, setting England 193 for victory. Survival till morning, and a calmer pitch, was paramount, and Hutton and Compton were held back. It all went horribly wrong, and at 23 for 5 Mac joined Evans at the wicket.

It was the greatest opportunity of his life, and he immediately hit the mystery spinner Iverson for a leg-side four. The next ball lived forever in his memory: "I hit Iverson down to square leg, a fair way. A chap named Johnson chased it. We'd run three easy runs. And we went for the fourth. This chap threw the ball in. It missed the stumps by quite a bit. Don Tallon, their keeper, backed away from the wicket, took the ball, threw it at the stumps and it hit them. And I was out. Run out, going for a fourth. "Christ, if I could have walked off the ground the other way and not had to face Freddie Brown, I would have done. It was such a vital time. If I could have stayed there ... To have got run out, of all things ... Crikey, did I get some stick." Hutton batted superbly the next morning, but they lost by 70 runs. McIntyre returned to Surrey and to the seven championship titles, his last season coinciding with the last of them.

He then did 18 years as county coach, upholding cricket's traditional values - discipline, smart appearance, fair play - and proving a shrewd judge of youngsters. He worked closely with the local schools, and 10 of his recruits, among them Bob Willis and the New Zealand captain Geoff Howarth, went on to play Test cricket. In 1963, five years after retirement, he played one last time. The Surrey keeper had appendicitis, and McIntyre did not want to expose the young deputy to the intimidating atmosphere of Bramall Lane, Sheffield. He scored an unbeaten 50 and took three catches, the last of them the young Geoff Boycott. He and his wife Dorothy retired to Lymington, enjoying 57 years of marriage before her death. He lived another six years, always happy to share his love of cricket with visitors. Nobody had ever batted better than his idol Jack Hobbs, nobody bowled better than Shane Warne. And nobody had ever run a run more disastrous than his at Brisbane. At the time of his death he was England's oldest Test cricketer. That mantle now passes to his old friend, Sir Alec Bedser.

Stephen Chalke Arthur John William McIntyre, cricketer and coach: born Kennington, London 14 May 1918; played for Surrey, 1938-63, and three Tests for England, 1950-55; married 1946 Dorothy (died 2003; one stepson, deceased); died Lymington 26 December 2009. Posted by Kennington Association at Glamorgan Cricket PREVIEW: County Championship Week Five Dominic Booth 6 May 2016 01:00 PM Cricket News As the teams prepare for the fifth round of matches in this season's Specsavers County Championship, here are all the essential stats ahead of another exciting week of action. DIVISION ONE Lancashire v Hampshire Lancashire have lost just once in their last 25 matches against Hampshire (W11, D13), a run dating back until 1992. Lancashire have won their last three home games against Hampshire, the last time they won more in a row was in a run of five wins between 1957 and 1961.

The Red Rose are unbeaten in 14 County Championship matches (W6, D8), their longest run since going 16 unbeaten in 2013. Simon Kerrigan’s next innings with the bat will be his 100th in First Class cricket, he currently averages 10.6 and has a high score of 62* which came against Hampshire in 2013. One more wicket will see Chris Wood reach 100 First Class wickets; he’s taken at least one wicket in all four matches he has played against Lancashire. Middlesex v Nottinghamshire Nottingham have won just once in their last 10 trips to face Middlesex away from home (L2). Of those last 10 games between the sides at the home of Middlesex seven have been drawn and the other three have seen one 10 wicket win and two wins by an innings. Since the start of the 2014 season Durham (once) are the only side to beat Middlesex at home (W7, D8, 1 abandoned).

Nick Gubbins needs 88 runs to reach 1,000 in First Class cricket; he has played 36 innings so far. Jake Ball has five more wickets (19) than any other bowler in Division One this season, taking at least six in all three of his matches so far in 2016. Warwickshire v Somerset Warwickshire have not won in eight games, the last time they went on a longer winless run was 14 games across the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Warwickshire have lost just once across the last 18 occasions they have hosted Somerset in the County Championship (D12, W5), a run dating back to 1984. Somerset have drawn their last three away games, the last time they went on a longer such run was in 2012 when they drew six on the spin.

If he features Tim Ambrose will make his 200th First Class appearance, he has scored 9,221 runs at an average of 33.8 so far, and taken one wicket from 2.5 overs (Adam Voges in April 2016). Chris Rogers’ last match was his 300th in FC cricket; he has 24,648 runs at an average of 49.8. Yorkshire v Surrey Yorkshire have drawn three games on the bounce, the last time they went this long without a win was 2012 when they drew eight consecutive games in Div 2. Surrey have lost just once in their last 13 encounters with Yorkshire (D8, W4), however the last five such fixtures have all ended in a draw. Yorkshire have not beaten Surrey at home since 1998, a run of six games without victory (D5, L1). At home Yorkshire are unbeaten in their last 18 games, a run stretching back to 2013 (W12, D6). Matt Dunn needs four more wickets to reach 100 in First Class cricket.

DIVISION TWO Derbyshire v Sussex Derbyshire have gone nine home games without winning (L3, D6), their last win on their own patch coming in 2014 against Leicestershire. Derbyshire’s last home win against Sussex came in 1995, since when Sussex have picked up three wins (D2). Sussex have won just twice in the last 12 months, a run of 16 games (L7, D7). Andy Carter is three wickets shy of 100 in First Class cricket, his bowling average is 29.6 so far. Chris Nash’s 144 against Leicestershire was his 8th highest First Class score and his best since hitting 178 against Nottinghamshire in 2014. Glamorgan v Worcestershire Glamorgan have lost just once on the last 11 instances of them hosting Worcestershire (D6, W3, 1 abandoned). Glamorgan have failed to win since an eight game unbeaten start to their 2015 campaign (D5, L6).

Worcestershire’s last win on the road was in July 2014, since when they have lost seven of 11 games (D4). Craig Meschede’s next First Class match will be his 50th; he is two wickets shy of 100 in his career so far. Both James Kettleborough, and David Lloyd are within touching distance of 1,000 First Class runs, they currently have 950 and 991 respectively. Kent v Gloucestershire Kent are unbeaten in their last seven games (D4, W2, 1 abandoned); however they have not won consecutive games since winning three on the spin in June-July 2014. Kent have not managed to beat Gloucestershire at home since 2009 (L2, D3), their longest such run since failing to beat them in the 1980s (L4, D2). Gloucestershire have only lost twice in their last 12 away games (W5, D5), a run which includes a win and a draw against Kent.

Daniel Bell-Drummond’s next innings with the bat will be his 100th in First Class cricket, he averages 36.7 so far with a high score of 206*. Liam Norwell needs six runs to reach 500 in First Class cricket, his average at the moment is 14.5. Leicestershire v Northamptonshire Leicestershire have gone four games without defeat, their best run since drawing five games in a row in 2013. Six of the last eight games between these sides has ended in a draw, with Northamptonshire winning the other two. Northamptonshire are winless in seven games, however six of these have ended in draws. If Leicestershire win this match it will be their 50th victory against Northamptonshire (L42, D94). Josh Cobb will make his 100th First Class appearance if he plays in this game, 89 runs will see him reach the milestone of 4,000.

Cricket: Sussex wins England county championship - The New York Times The New York Times Sports |Cricket: Sussex wins England county championship Search Cricket: Sussex wins England county championship By HUW RICHARDS Continue reading the main story In its long history, the English county cricket club Sussex has fielded many great players. Before the First World War it saw the magical strokeplay of the Indian prince Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji and the colossal scoring of the polymathic Charles Fry, later offered the crown of Albania. Between the wars came Ranjitsinhji's equally gifted nephew, Duleepsinjhi, and Maurice Tate, one of England's greatest fast medium bowlers. Since 1945, Sussex has had aristocratic stroke maker Ted Dexter, the South African-born England captain Tony Greig and Pakistan's greatest all-round player, Imran Khan. All, though, must bow to the achievements of the Pakistani leg-spin bowler Mushtaq Ahmed. When he joined Sussex in 2002 it had not, for all this brilliance, won the English county championship in more than 100 years of trying.

On Saturday, it won the title for the third time in five years, retaining the championship it won in 2006. Mushtaq took 13 wickets, most by any bowler in a match this year, in the innings victory over Worcestershire, taking his total for the season to 90. For the fifth consecutive year, personal dominance not seen since Percy Freeman, Kent's prodigious leg-spin bowler, was slaying his thousands between the wars, Mushtaq finished as leading wicket-taker in the competition. Sussex had to wait until the last hour of the final day's play to be sure of its victory in the most thrilling title battle in years. Three teams might have taken the championship. Lancashire, which led into the final round of matches, staged an extraordinary bid to snatch its first title since 1934. It was set 489 to win - only 13 short of the all-time competition record for successfully chasing a target - against Surrey at the Oval and made it to 464 before the last man was dismissed.

Its problem was that, when it mattered, it had run into Surrey's veteran batsman, Mark Ramprakash, whose scores of 196 and 130 not out in the match underpinned that massive target and meant that he became the first Englishman ever to average more than 100 runs per innings in consecutive seasons. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Lancashire's loss made Sussex champion and left Durham, the newest major league county, in second. Durham can claim to have been team of the year after also taking the Cheltenham and Gloucester trophy, the most important one-day title. Advertisement Continue reading the main story After struggling in the early years after joining the championship in 1992 - it still has by far the worst historic win-loss percentage of any team - Durham has risen spectacularly in the last two seasons. A title this season would have broken Warwickshire's record, 16 years from 1895 to 1911, for the fastest rise from rookies to champions.

It also supplied three home-grown players - batsman Paul Collingwood and quick bowlers Liam Plunkett and Steve Harmison - to the England team. Wicketkeeper Phil Mustard has just been called into the one-day squad and quick bowler Graham Onions is not far away. The future may be Durham's while Lancashire, which has seven titles and the third-best won-loss record among the 18 counties, can claim the past. The present, though, belongs to Sussex and Mushtaq. India stormed into the final of the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday after Yuvraj Singh's blistering batting earned them a 15-run win over Australia, Reuters reported from Durban, South Africa. India booked a final date with its traditional rival Pakistan in Johannesburg on Monday thanks to Yuvraj's blazing knock of 70 runs off just 30 deliveries. India amassed 188 for five and Australia could not keep up the required pace and replied with 173 for seven. A version of this article appears in print on September 23, 2007, in The International Herald Tribune.

Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Championship previews Essex v Derbyshire, Division Two, Chelmsford A first Championship game without Alastair Cook this season for Essex, who remain 10 points clear at the top despite missing out on the last round of matches. Cook is the leading Division Two runscorer with 523, but Tom Westley is not far behind with 432 from six innings – he has also been mentioned as a possible England contender later in the summer, and has set himself the ambitious target of making 1,000 first-class runs before the end of May. Jaik Mickleburgh is set to replace Cook at the top of the order alongside Nick Browne, and Derbyshire will be led by the former Essex opener Billy Godleman. Their form man, Chesney Hughes, squeezes between Cook and Westley in the Division Two scoring chart with 466 – but their 2012 win at Chelmsford was a lone success in 37 Championship matches in Essex stretching back to 1962.

by David Hopps 5/14/2016 9:43:25 AM Championship previews Northamptonshire v Kent, Division Two, Northampton Kent are still without the suspended Matt Coles, but both he and Sam Billings, who has been starring at IPL, are expected back for their home opener in the NatWest T20 Blast against Somerset next Friday. They have not lost for seven Championship games, stretching back to an innings defeat by Northants at Canterbury last August, when Ben Duckett scored a big century for the visitors. Kent had also been heavily beaten at Wantage Road in June, meaning that two of Northants’ three Championship wins all season were against them. But whereas Northants have made a slow start this year, Kent have been going well and went close to a second consecutive win against Gloucestershire last week.

by David Hopps 5/14/2016 9:43:28 AM Championship previews Gloucestershire v Glamorgan, Division Two, Bristol Glamorgan cross the Severn Bridge to Bristol at the bottom of the pile and having been in all sorts of trouble in their last match at 42 for 4 in reply to Worcestershire’s 456-6 declared before the rain intervened. South African opener Colin Ingram is still out with a knee injury, but offspinner Andrew Salter and Harry Podmore, the seamer on an extended loan from Middlesex, could be considered. Gloucestershire, who are also looking for a first win of the season, are still missing Will Tavare and Liam Norwell, but Benny Howell could return. Chris Dent, who has started the season in good form, scored a career-best 268 in the equivalent fixture at the end of last summer.

by David Hopps 5/14/2016 9:43:30 AM Championship previews Worcestershire v Sussex, Division Two, Worcester A first meeting this season of the two teams relegated from Division One in 2015, with both looking for a first win of the year to start closing the gap on leaders Essex. Both were well-placed in the last round only to be frustrated by the weather. Worcestershire have lost Moeen Ali to England but have one of the form batsmen in the country in Brett D’Oliveira, fresh from his double century against Glamorgan in Cardiff. Sussex are still missing Chris Jordan at IPL and their captain Luke Wright, who is hoping to make his first appearance of the season in next Friday’s Blast match at Gloucestershire. But they have a dominant recent Championship record against Worcestershire including a double last season, the victory at New Road in September coming by an innings with outstanding contributions by Jordan and Wright.

by David Hopps 5/14/2016 9:43:35 AM Championship previews Durham v Lancashire, Division One, Emirates Riverside Lancashire have proved gamey opposition on their return to Division One under the supervision of Ashley Giles. Jimmy Anderson returns to England with Lancashire well-placed, one point behind Yorkshire having played a game fewer, and with Jos Buttler due back soon from IPL. Tom Bailey is set to replace Anderson with Saqib Mahmood joining his fellow England Under-19 international Haseeb Hameed in the squad. Durham must replace Ben Stokes, and Mark Wood is still missing, but they had the upper hand in the last of their three consecutive draws, against Surrey at the Kia Oval, with centuries from Paul Collingwood – who turns 40 later this month – and Jack Burnham, 20 years his junior. It has been a solid start from a county who many sensed might be in relegation danger. Lancashire have only won once in seven Championship games at Durham, in 2012 when Luke Procter, the allrounder who made a career best with the bat against Hampshire earlier this week, took five for 17.

by David Hopps 5/14/2016 9:43:45 AM Championship previews Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire, Division One, Trent Bridge Notts are forced to make three changes from the team who lost the Division One leadership in a rain-ruined draw at Lord’s, with Alex Hales, Stuart Broad and Jake Ball all linking up with England. Aussie seamer Jackson Bird is set to return and they have recalled Luke Fletcher from a loan spell with Derbyshire. Warwickshire hope that Ian Bell will have recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered in last week’s home draw against Somerset, to lead them on a ground where he played a masterful innings on a spiteful pitch to set up a win in 2014. Chris Woakes would take over as captain if Bell is ruled out. by David Hopps 5/14/2016 9:43:50 AM Championship previews Somerset v Yorkshire, Division One, Taunton Andrew Gale is expected to make light of a bruised knee to lead Yorkshire at a ground where they have not won in six Championship visits since 2008.

He would have liked more than a one-point lead at the top after a period when all Yorkshire's England players have been available, but a last-gasp win against Surrey at Headingley has calmed a few misgivings. Yorkshire have recalled Jack Leaning, the Cricket Writers’ Club Young Player of the Year in 2015, to replace Joe Root in the middle order, and Andrew Hodd will take over as wicketkeeper from Jonny Bairstow, while Karl Carver joins Rashid as a second spin option with David Willey expected to out for six weeks, and Matt Fisher still missing with hamstring problems. Somerset add Tim Groenewald and Johannes Myburgh to the 11 who had gained the upper hand against Warwickshire on an uneven Edgbaston pitch that was later reported. by David Hopps 5/14/2016 9:43:56 AM Championship previews Surrey v Middlesex, Division One, Kia Oval Peter May, the former Surrey and England captain and the country’s greatest post-war batsman, will be honoured at the Kia Oval on Sunday.

The Peter May Stand, situated between the pavilion and the gasometers on the east side of the ground, will be officially opened by his wife, Virginia, before the start of play. The new stand will provide 1,500 more seats, increasing the Oval’s capacity to almost 26,000. It will also feature a roof garden which will be available for Surrey members at all county matches, including Twenty20. May, who died in 1994 at the age of 64, played for Surrey from 1950 until 1963, captaining them to the last two of their seven consecutive Championships between 1952 and 1958. He also captained England in 41 Tests, winning 20 of them and losing only 10, became president of MCC and chairman of the Test selectors but he is best remembered as a classical, upright batsman who scored 27,592 first-class runs at an average of 51.

It will be the first Surrey-Middlesex Championship match since September 2013, when Middlesex offspinner Ollie Rayner claimed astonishing match figures of 15 for 118 to set up a 146-run win. Surrey have only won one of the last 10 Championship matches between the London rivals. Adam Voges is set to return after concussion to resume the Middlesex captaincy, while Surrey are still missing Zafar Ansari and Mark Footitt. by David Hopps 5/14/2016 9:44:00 AM Peter May batting against Australia in 1961. The stand which will be opened in his honour on Sunday takes Surrey's capacity to 26,000 by David Hopps 5/14/2016 9:44:02 AM

Question: Which county won the County Cricket Championship for seven consecutive seasons in the 1950s?
Answer: SURREY